A federal court order quietly removed 37% of the Western Mojave's public OHV route network from the map. Here is what happened, why it matters to every outdoor American, and where Tymmber stands.
On January 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston signed an order closing 2,200 miles of designated off-highway vehicle routes in the Western Mojave Desert — 37% of the entire WEMO route network, effective March 24, 2026. The ruling concluded a legal saga that began in 2006, brought by the Center for Biological Diversity on behalf of the desert tortoise and the Lane Mountain milk-vetch.
The OHV community responded. BlueRibbon Coalition, Cal4Wheel, the American Sand Association, and a broad coalition of recreation organizations issued statements, filed comments, and coordinated legal action. BRC filed a Motion to Intervene in federal court today. They have been doing this work for nearly 40 years and they are still at it.
The broader outdoor industry — the $1.3 trillion machine that sells you tents and trail shoes and tells you to get outside — was harder to find in the conversation. That is not entirely surprising. Trade associations represent big tents. When your membership includes brands that depend on federal permits, institutional relationships, and a politically diverse customer base, taking a public stand on OHV access is complicated math. We understand the math. We do not share the constraint.
Tymmber Outdoor is a startup. We do not have a seat at the table yet. But we have a voice, and we intend to use it plainly: we oppose any attempt to restrict off-highway vehicle access to public lands.
Not because we are an OHV company — we are not. Because access to the outdoors is the foundation of everything we are building. Every closure is a wall. Every wall narrows the outdoor life we are trying to open up for the 268 million Americans who have never been invited to participate.
Here is why this should matter to you even if you have never touched a dirt bike in your life.
The land that was closed does not belong to the court. It does not belong to the agency that managed it. It belongs to you — to every American. That is what public means. And when 2,200 miles disappear from public access by judicial order, the person who loses is not only the off-roader. It is the family that drove four hours to camp there. The veteran who needs a vehicle to reach the terrain that heals him. The retiree who has earned every acre of that horizon. The kid from a city who might never get another chance.
Access to the outdoors is not a privilege for the athletically elite. It is not a reward for owning the right gear or having the right body. It is a right — one that has to be actively defended, because the institutions designed to protect it are not always in the business of doing so.
The BlueRibbon Coalition has been doing the legal work to keep public land public for nearly 40 years. We are not affiliated with them. We do not need to be to recognize that the work matters. We will be watching this case and others like it — and we will keep telling you what we see.
That is what this circle is for.
— Mike Isaacs
Founder, Tymmber Outdoor
Sierra County, New Mexico